New Wave Comics & Collectibles experiencing success in Skippack

SKIPPACK — New Wave Comics & Collectibles is nestled in the Victorian Carriage House Shops in Skippack Village, and while it is a small shop — about 600 square feet — within its walls are pathways to different worlds of limitless breadth and scope.

With hundreds of comic book titles, as well as numerous role playing games, card games, miniatures and accessoriesfor sale, the recently-opened shop has fast become a popular location for those both familiar with and new to all that the business offers.

When the store opened June 1, it was as the brick and mortar expansion of an online comic book business started by owners Jason Radosky and Mikaela Martin-Radosky, who also run a therapy and counseling office in Souderton called Guidance for Growing. Jason is a licensed clinical therapist and Mikaela a health counselor.

“New Wave was incorporated over ten years ago as an online business,” explained Mikaela Martin-Radosky, who became a “comic book girl by proxy” after meeting her now husband, Jason.

“I have been collecting (comic books) since I was six years old,” said Jason Radosky, who is in his early forties. “I knew it was just a matter of time before (opening this store) happened.”

Two of the walls at New Wave are covered in comics — the estimated exact number of titles is a friendly point of contention between the owners, with more than 300 being an agreed upon assessment. These include comics by DC, Marvel, Image, Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics and more. They also carry graphic novels, trade paperbacks and comic book character inspired décor such as the popular Pop! collectable figurines. Jason Radosky also appraises, buys and sells older comic books.

“We’ll also do special orders,” Mikaela Martin-Radosky said. “We are collectors ourselves and really like helping people hunt things down.”

“They have all of the comics I am looking for, and they are here right when they first come out,” said Ryan Kern, a 23-year-old customer from Harleysville.

Skippack resident Matt, age 16, has supported New Wave since it first opened and is involved in just about all of the activities held in the store.

“I buy comics and play Magic and Dungeons & Dragons. Actually, this shop opened my mind to comics and more games,” said Matt. “It has been really awesome coming here because I have made a lot of new friends. There is definitely a great community of people who will teach you anything that you want to learn … the people here have a lot to share about everything.”

Although the gaming side of the business began as a secondary interest, it has fast become just as popular as the comics.

“We love talking about comics and games and making recommendations about comics and games,” Mikaela Martin-Radosky said. “When customers come in and are interested in a game we can arrange a game night were they can play and make connections with other people. That is something that we have had a great reaction to since we’ve opened and we see a lot of new players come out of that.”

New Wave not only sells the different components of card games (such as Pokemon and Magic: the Gathering — New Wave is registered with ‘core status’ for official Magic events), miniatures (such as Hero Clix and X-Wing miniatures), tabletop role-playing games (such as Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons), and board games (such as Ticket to Ride and The Settlers of Catan), but also serves as host to different gaming nights. Their weekly schedule for gaming currently includes Magic Fridays, Dungeons & Dragons Sundays and open-gaming Wednesdays. People of all ages come in buzzing for these events.

“Before this place opened these just sat around collecting dust,” said 11-year-old Thomas as he held up his stack of Magic playing cards. “Now I have a place to play that’s just down the road. This place is really great for those just starting out with games or comics.”

Thirteen-year-old Will is one of those just starting out with collectable card games.

“I really like it here. I like the comics and I just started playing Magic today,” he said, “People here have been treating me really nice.”

“I come here mainly for Magic but am interested in comics too,” said Lane Richardson, 18, of Collegeville. “Not only is it close to home, it’s a place that makes you feel very comfortable and appreciated. It has that family business feel.”

“I have been working here as a consultant since the store opened,” said Sean Hammond, 22, of Harleysville.

As the “resident game guy” he is a long-time aficionado of all types of games and shares his expertise at game nights for those new to a game or looking to improve at a game. He also runs events such as Dungeons & Dragons adventures and Magic special events.

“Jason and Mikaela are awesome and I love coming here,” he added.

In addition to the weekly events taking place at New Wave, there are also monthly events and special events put on.

“For First Fridays we give out a free comic and (temporary) super hero tattoos. We have a nice home theater system here and just started holding a movie night once a month,” said Mikaela Martin-Radosky. “It’s free and we bring in popcorn for everyone. We are also organizing a Zombie Crawl.”

The Zombie Crawl is a pub crawl (adults only, of course) where New Wave will bring in a make-up artist who will use his special effects skills to make attendees look like Zombies. They will patronize participating bars and restaurants in Skippack for a night out. Not only will the Zombie Crawl be a fun way to let others know about New Wave, it is also a way for New Wave to let their customers experience other local businesses.

“Being in Skippack has been awesome. The businesses here and the people who come here are great,” said Mikaela Martin-Radosky. “This is a fantastic community. It takes heart and passion to be able to connect with other people about (what you do as a business), and a lot of shop owners here are like that.”

New Wave Comics & Collectibles is located within Victorian Carriage House Shops at 4039 Skippack Pike in Skippack (across the street from Skippack Pizza). Call 610-222-9200 for more information.

To keep up to date with all of their events and products visit http://newwavecomics.net/ or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newwavecomics